(guest post by Garst Tyrell)
The tyrant exited the pristine medical bay with a confident stride, quickly but precisely closing the distance to the lift that would transport him to the upper levels. As he entered the lift a lone Amarrian bowed and held forth the master's command console. The scene played out as it always must: He dismissed the mortal as he seized the proferred device, his mind already focusing not on battles lost but greater wars yet to be won. The ritual complete the Amarrian silently stepped from the lift and bowed once more unnoticed as the doors snapped shut. The lift began its silent ascent from Hades. He would be back.
The display faded back into life to project a Triumvirate alliance logo as his hands waved impatiently over the screen, haptic sensors responding to his newest body's unique bio-electrical field. Form is subservient to function in all things, but he indulged in that most common of immortal fetishes: all replacement flesh for his future deaths must precisely match that of the original. He had lost the original so many lives ago so as to render any lingering significance irrelevant. Rather this was a calculated choice, the permanence of his noble form a constant reminder to those around him of his otherness, a pilgrim on the path to an apotheosis that they will never walk.
Preliminary reports for the skirmish in GE- had already been replaced with a final battle damage assessment during the tyrant's rebirth. He scrolled through the force disposition, destroyed ships highlighted in crimson red to honor/shame the fallen. He frowned as he stopped on the loss of his own Curse force recon vessel, crimson pulsing dully behind the text bearing its name: Dictator. As expected the engineers on nearby vessels recorded the Dictator had been overwhelmed, shields instantly collapsing under the strain from a massed volley of 1400mm macrocannon slugs. He involuntarily closed his eyes and felt the intense heat as his ship incinerated all inside and turned to nothing. His frown turned into a snarl as he suppressed the pain being forced on himself by a brain still convinced it was dead and finished reading the reports.
They had never had a chance. Many immortals refer to the system of GE- as the 'Thunderdome', an archaic reference to a meeting ground for fleet skirmishes of all size where commanders and pilots clash to test their tactics with bloody result. The tyrant his led his fleet into the system chasing easy prey, but his greed had got the better of him and he had over committed his ship to run down a pirate cruiser bleeding atmosphere from a number of breaches in its hull. But this prey had summoned friends to avenge its loss, interdiction probes trapping the Dictator as the enemy battleship fleet casually snuffed it out with the press of a button.
The lift decelerated to a stop and the doors slid slowly open to reveal a personal hanger. Garst strode forward to a waiting orbital shuttle, open hatch a loving embracing to return him to his rightful destiny written in the stars. As history has shown, that destiny proved to be very bloody indeed.
Monday, March 23, 2015
Thursday, March 19, 2015
Gods And Monsters
Solar System: Uemon
Region: The Forge
Constellation: Mivora
Security Level: 0.2
Location: Perkone Factory Caldari State
Lights flickered then dimmed in the Perkone Factory Caldari State station's corridors, marking the midnight hour. The holographic walls lit as nearly one hundred photos with names beneath flashed onto the screens, an honorary tribute to those who had died within the last twenty four hours. Her blue gaze skimmed across the montage as she stopped to catch her breath. She'd been running the upper deck where most of her corp-mates kept small apartments.
None of the faces looked familiar, but she hadn't really expected to recognize any of them. They were strangers, mostly crew members of her corporation and alliance. Mortals. Brave men and women who signed up to fly with the capsuleers, knowing that they weren't likely to make it to old age. Or the next week, for that matter. It was always a risk, but their families were well compensated.
Capsuleers rarely gave their crew a second thought. Their own lives were practically immortal. Death was a temporary thing, less than a second while consciousness was transferred from a dying pod to a new clone. Though some higher ranking crew members were privy to escape pods, many were not. If the ship were to go down, so would they.
Capsuleers would never suffer such a fate. They were Gods.
And sometimes monsters...
Her brow furrowed as she took a moment to look at each individual face. When she flew for the Empire, crew members were rarely recognized. Many were slaves- though never on her ships. They were disposable, treated as another part of the ship, as if they were a thing and not a living, breathing person.
But here, they were recognized. Their sacrifice noted. Honored, even. She found it strangely comforting.
She rubbed the small of her back as she started walking towards her apartment, cooling down from her run. The corridor was quiet and empty. Most N.M pilots were asleep at this hour, and she had yet to sync with their circadian rhythm. As she turned the corner, she nearly collided with Mystical Might, a pilot she had known for nearly the length of her capsuleer career. Sometimes friend, sometimes enemy, his loyalties changed on the flip of an ISK coin. She drew up her hand and balled up her fist out of instinct- he had podded her last he'd seen her in space.
"Whoa," he yelped while grabbing at her hand as it came storming towards his face. "What the hell is that for?"
"For podding me, you leech!"
"Oh." He smirked, "That. It isn't my fault you warped to a gate in a pod. You should know better."
She pulled her hand back while glaring at him, "And you should know better than to kill so-called friends."
He folded his arms and leaned against the wall, "Hey now. You weren't the only one. Several of you warped in at once. Luckily I scooped up your corpse."
"Creep," she rolled her eyes. "I didn't think you were into that."
He held up his hands defensively, "I'm not. I was contacted by someone offering 150 mil for it."
"You're joking."
"Nope."
"Who?" she asked.
"Hasan al-Askari Mujahideen. Whoever that is," he replied in a lazy, carefree voice.
"Fucking hell, Myst. That guy is crazy. He's been mailing for some time now begging for a corpse to do God only knows what with." She felt sick to her stomach. "I can't believe you sold me."
"Hey! It was 150 million ISK," he said, as if that made it any better.
"Whatever." She shook her head. "What are you even doing here anyhow? You don't live in Uemon."
"I do now."
"You joined Tri?"
"Yup. Today."
She slung her head back and sighed deeply.
"So," he asked, "Does this mean we can be friends again?" He extended his arms, offering a hug, "C'mon. I've matured, I swear."
She eyed him for a moment then stepped closer as if she were going to hug him. Instead, she sucker punched him in the gut. "You should know better than to leave yourself vulnerable," she smirked as she took a few steps away, out of arms reach. "And yes. Now we can be friends."
He grunted as he grabbed his stomach, "Fine. I deserved that. We good?"
"Yeah, we're good." She started towards her apartment while speaking over her shoulder, "And don't sell any more of my corpses, damn you."
"Lucky for you I don't awox," he called out.
She rounded a corner and paused to admire the atrium that separated one row of apartments from another. Foliage hung from hovering planters in the center of the atrium, trees grew up from the bottom. She moved to the glass divider and leaned against it, peeking over to count the levels. Each floor would house a division of Triumvirate. She knew that the floor below No Mercy's belonged to VOLTA, but she was unfamiliar with the rest of arrangement.
A shadow fell across the atrium and corridors as a chimera floated above the dome overhead, blocking out the natural light from the nearby sun. She glanced up to admire the massive warship as it drifted across the station. Once it was out of view, she dropped her gaze and gasped when she spotted Garst across the atrium. Their eyes met and she stared at him for a long moment as something he said to her years ago whispered in the back of her mind.
"...all things must come to an end so greater things can begin. Change breeds strength, and you will be stronger for it."
Recognition flashed across his face. Of course he remembered her. She was foolish to believe he would have forgotten her, no matter how much she had hoped to slip in underneath his radar. His brow-line creased.
An explosion overhead lit the atrium in a myriad of colors. She glanced up to watch the wreckage raining across the dome, a thousand shards of metal cascading through the air. It was beautiful, though something deep inside of her knew she shouldn't appreciate the beauty of such brutal carnage.
She dropped her gaze, searching for him, but he was gone. An old memory echoed, "I would have moved the stars in the sky to get to you..."
She chewed her bottom lip nervously as a chill of unease slithered down her spine. "Well. Here I am. Let's get this over with, shall we Garst?" she whispered to herself as she stepped into her quarters.
Region: The Forge
Constellation: Mivora
Security Level: 0.2
Location: Perkone Factory Caldari State
Lights flickered then dimmed in the Perkone Factory Caldari State station's corridors, marking the midnight hour. The holographic walls lit as nearly one hundred photos with names beneath flashed onto the screens, an honorary tribute to those who had died within the last twenty four hours. Her blue gaze skimmed across the montage as she stopped to catch her breath. She'd been running the upper deck where most of her corp-mates kept small apartments.
None of the faces looked familiar, but she hadn't really expected to recognize any of them. They were strangers, mostly crew members of her corporation and alliance. Mortals. Brave men and women who signed up to fly with the capsuleers, knowing that they weren't likely to make it to old age. Or the next week, for that matter. It was always a risk, but their families were well compensated.
Capsuleers rarely gave their crew a second thought. Their own lives were practically immortal. Death was a temporary thing, less than a second while consciousness was transferred from a dying pod to a new clone. Though some higher ranking crew members were privy to escape pods, many were not. If the ship were to go down, so would they.
Capsuleers would never suffer such a fate. They were Gods.
And sometimes monsters...
Her brow furrowed as she took a moment to look at each individual face. When she flew for the Empire, crew members were rarely recognized. Many were slaves- though never on her ships. They were disposable, treated as another part of the ship, as if they were a thing and not a living, breathing person.
But here, they were recognized. Their sacrifice noted. Honored, even. She found it strangely comforting.
She rubbed the small of her back as she started walking towards her apartment, cooling down from her run. The corridor was quiet and empty. Most N.M pilots were asleep at this hour, and she had yet to sync with their circadian rhythm. As she turned the corner, she nearly collided with Mystical Might, a pilot she had known for nearly the length of her capsuleer career. Sometimes friend, sometimes enemy, his loyalties changed on the flip of an ISK coin. She drew up her hand and balled up her fist out of instinct- he had podded her last he'd seen her in space.
"Whoa," he yelped while grabbing at her hand as it came storming towards his face. "What the hell is that for?"
"For podding me, you leech!"
"Oh." He smirked, "That. It isn't my fault you warped to a gate in a pod. You should know better."
She pulled her hand back while glaring at him, "And you should know better than to kill so-called friends."
He folded his arms and leaned against the wall, "Hey now. You weren't the only one. Several of you warped in at once. Luckily I scooped up your corpse."
"Creep," she rolled her eyes. "I didn't think you were into that."
He held up his hands defensively, "I'm not. I was contacted by someone offering 150 mil for it."
"You're joking."
"Nope."
"Who?" she asked.
"Hasan al-Askari Mujahideen. Whoever that is," he replied in a lazy, carefree voice.
"Fucking hell, Myst. That guy is crazy. He's been mailing for some time now begging for a corpse to do God only knows what with." She felt sick to her stomach. "I can't believe you sold me."
"Hey! It was 150 million ISK," he said, as if that made it any better.
"Whatever." She shook her head. "What are you even doing here anyhow? You don't live in Uemon."
"I do now."
"You joined Tri?"
"Yup. Today."
She slung her head back and sighed deeply.
"So," he asked, "Does this mean we can be friends again?" He extended his arms, offering a hug, "C'mon. I've matured, I swear."
She eyed him for a moment then stepped closer as if she were going to hug him. Instead, she sucker punched him in the gut. "You should know better than to leave yourself vulnerable," she smirked as she took a few steps away, out of arms reach. "And yes. Now we can be friends."
He grunted as he grabbed his stomach, "Fine. I deserved that. We good?"
"Yeah, we're good." She started towards her apartment while speaking over her shoulder, "And don't sell any more of my corpses, damn you."
"Lucky for you I don't awox," he called out.
She rounded a corner and paused to admire the atrium that separated one row of apartments from another. Foliage hung from hovering planters in the center of the atrium, trees grew up from the bottom. She moved to the glass divider and leaned against it, peeking over to count the levels. Each floor would house a division of Triumvirate. She knew that the floor below No Mercy's belonged to VOLTA, but she was unfamiliar with the rest of arrangement.
A shadow fell across the atrium and corridors as a chimera floated above the dome overhead, blocking out the natural light from the nearby sun. She glanced up to admire the massive warship as it drifted across the station. Once it was out of view, she dropped her gaze and gasped when she spotted Garst across the atrium. Their eyes met and she stared at him for a long moment as something he said to her years ago whispered in the back of her mind.
"...all things must come to an end so greater things can begin. Change breeds strength, and you will be stronger for it."
Recognition flashed across his face. Of course he remembered her. She was foolish to believe he would have forgotten her, no matter how much she had hoped to slip in underneath his radar. His brow-line creased.
An explosion overhead lit the atrium in a myriad of colors. She glanced up to watch the wreckage raining across the dome, a thousand shards of metal cascading through the air. It was beautiful, though something deep inside of her knew she shouldn't appreciate the beauty of such brutal carnage.
She dropped her gaze, searching for him, but he was gone. An old memory echoed, "I would have moved the stars in the sky to get to you..."
She chewed her bottom lip nervously as a chill of unease slithered down her spine. "Well. Here I am. Let's get this over with, shall we Garst?" she whispered to herself as she stepped into her quarters.
Saturday, March 14, 2015
Into The Fold
Solar System: Uemon
Region: The Forge
Constellation: Mivora
Security Level: 0.2
Location: Perkone Factory Caldari State
She woke up in a cold sweat, her heart racing as blood pumped furiously through her veins. She realized it was just a dream as she blinked her eyes open. The horrific images began to fade, but the emotions lingered. Cold, oppressive fear slithered down her spine and she felt as if she were smothering. She gasped and tried to force her breathing to steady, telling herself that it was nothing more than a nightmare.
Sliding her hand through her blonde strands, she sat up and pulled her knees to her chest. The black silk sheet did little to warm her chilled skin. Teeth chattering, she turned her gaze to her captain's quarters. The room was unfamiliar and for a moment she had forgotten where she was. The realization came quickly as the corporation's logo flashed along one of the screens on the far side of the wall. She was in Uemon, in a cheap rented apartment on the space station that her new corp currently based out of.
Trimuverate. No Mercy. Garst Tyrell.
Fragmented memories rushed through her mind at once, filling her thoughts with flickering scenes from many years ago. The memories played like a bad melodramatic holo-reel, distorted shards of their past twisting and turning, as if being viewed through a kaleidoscope.
Once, he had been her superior in PIE, but also her friend. A mentor, who bought her her first slicer and taught her to fly a harbinger. Her hero, when he captured the star system Kamela.
And then he changed. Everything changed. She became afraid of him as he turned his back on her beloved Empire. His lust for blood out-shadowed her naivety and her idealistic imperial dreams. She played by the book, followed the rules and upheld the law.
He made his own rules, own laws, and forced those he fought to submit to his terms. He was a glorious and ruthless leader. A true conqueror of men, of space, of fame.
"You can't just take what you want." she had said to him once.
"Recent history says otherwise, and frankly, I'm beginning to like it."
His arrogance infuriated her. His ruthlessness terrified her. When he left their old corporation, he took some of Amarr's best pilots with him, nearly crippling her militia. She had never forgiven him.
She slid out of bed, wrapped up in her sheet and settled down onto the sofa to mindlessly watch the news reports roll across the screen. Incursions. Sovereignty changes. Concord. Though she tried to focus, her thoughts drifted, haunted by years old memories. One of their last conversations played through her mind.
"The ONLY good thing that came out of that bastard organization was that it showed me how NOT to run a corporation... and you. You really were a lucky find. It's a shame you threw away what I would have given you. Everything. I would have given you everything."
She shook her head. "I don't believe you. You left, Garst. You walked away from PIE, the Empire, me. You didn't even tell me you were going."
"The Empire and PIE have no place for men of ambition anymore. The frontier, that my dear, is where great men will make their mark and carve the next empire. Where the weak perish and only the strong survive. Yes Shalee, that is what I crave. Not the slow death of a complacent empire but the chance to make my mark or die trying on the edge."
"So go," she said dismissively. "No one is standing in your way. Go conquer it all for all I care."
"So that's it? Goodbye and good luck? Don't let the door hit you on the way out?" he said.
"What else do you want me to say? You are leaving regardless," she argued.
"Then convince me to stay," he said.
"You wont. There's nothing I can say to make you stay. I can't compete with your quest for glory, for your need to conquer."
"Maybe."
"Maybe? You know I'm right. I never could compete."
He was silent.
She stared at the holographic screen, challenging him. "Fine. Stay. I want you to stay."
"Why? So you can have something for you and your friends to hate. A puppet to point to and say 'Don't end up like that, oh ye faithful?' I don't want to stay. I want you to come with me."
"Come with you? Abandon the Empire? For what? To what avail?"
"Because I want you to come. Because I want to open your eyes and show you wonders you've only dreamed of, temptations you've denied for so long. There are no rules on the frontier. Only survival and victory."
"And this is what you desire?"
"I desire you. I always have."
It had been over five years since since he had uttered those words to her. Five years of her serving faithfully, dutifully, in the Amarr Militia, rising to the rank of Divine Commodore. She lead her own corporation, and then alliance, which became a dominant force in the Bleak Lands and surrounding systems.
He never looked back.
Five years, and she gave it all up in an instant to search for a illusive Sani Sabi sect that had infiltrated Triumvirate as they had her own corporation. At least that is where the intel was leading her.
Impulsively, she applied to his corporation, and without a word, was accepted.
Just like that. He hadn't contacted her or cared that she was there. No doubt, if he even remembered her at all, she'd be just another gun to him. Another soldier to fight his war. Raphael had told her, "I don't think he's given you a second thought, honestly."
And that was probably for the best...
[ 12 hours earlier ]
Shalee blinked open her eyes as the liquid drained from her pod. The murky, amber fluid flushed into the metal grating as the pod opened. The automatic clone-jack wires unplugged and coiled into the pod itself. As the mouthpiece fell from her mouth, she looked at Raphael who was standing there, arms folded, staring at her. She took a step forward onto the metal grating, dripping water. "I knew we would run into each other but I didn't know it would be so soon."
Raphael frowned at her, his voice a mixture of anger and confusion. "What are you doing here?"
She threaded her fingers through her soaked hair and squeezed the excess water out. "Joining your corporation. That's what."
"Why are you here?"
Shalee stared at him for a moment, "Why are you here?" she asked as she laid her hands on her hips loosely.
"Answer my goddamn question! You have no business here. Go back to Huola."
She lifted her chin, her blue eyes blazing with a sudden rush of anger. She knew she was going to have to face him and explain, but she didn't know it would be so soon. "But I do. And it is *my* business."
"Why can't you just fuckin' leave me alone? You made your goddamn choice, go fucking live with it. Let me be!"
Her thin brows furrowed, "And so did you." She kept her hands on her hips, chin raised imperiously, meeting his glare with one of her own, "So move it. You're in my way."
He threw his hands into the air. "What the hell does that mean?"
"It means you're blocking my way and I want to go take a shower. That is what it means. Now move. You have no right to be in my personal hangar." She shoved at him with one hand.
Raphael grabbed her by the wrist, "We don't need you here, go back to Tiger."
She jerked her arm, trying to pull away from him, "And yet I was accepted into your corporation, so someone needs me." She frowned at him, "Why don't you go back to Sara."
Raphael twisted his face in incomprehension. "Who the hell is Sara?"
"Jerk," she stared at him, hot anger flashing in her eyes, "So you've already broken off your engagement?"
"What the hell are you talking about!?"
"The woman you came here to marry?"
He looked at her, mute, unable to make any sense of her.
"Sara Morgaine? Red headed Khanid...." she explained.
"I don't know what you're talking about and I think you're just trying to weasel your way past me with this bullshit."
"Whatever," she said sarcastically, convinced he was lying. "Can you let me pass?"
"Why are you here?" he asked again.
"It's none of your business. Contrary to your belief, New Eden doesn't revolve around you. Nor do I. Now please, let me pass."
He practically threw her wrist back to her. "Do what you're here for and then get out and never bother me again."
She scoffed, "How am I bothering you! You're here in my chambers."
"You've come all the way out here to the other side of the cluster, and just happen to join the same corp I've been in for half a year!"
She rubbed at her wrist, "No. I'm here for a reason. I'm looking for someone inside of Triumvirate."
"What, need a second suitor again?" he said derisively.
She rolled her eyes, "You're an ass."
"Yeah, you're so much better."
"I wont be in your way. You'll hardly know I'm here."
"I can only hope."
She frowned deeply. "This is the first time we have talked in months and all you want to do is yell at me. Typical."
"You marry Tiger while I'm away. Marry him! The man who cheated on you! Who lied to you about it! Got someone else pregnant! Then you run up here and act like we're going to be the best of friends?"
She dropped her gaze as she huffed out a breath. Emotions overwhelmed her at once. "First off. I heard you were seeing someone else and that it was serious. Secondly.. I was a wreck and needed someone and you weren't there."
"Heard from who? Because I can guarantee you it was a lie. And a wreck over what? And why didn't you contact me? You know I'd have come, but what, because I wasn't living at the Terrace you felt I was "not there?"
She tilted her head, her blue eyes lingering upon his face. A part of her wanted to tell him everything right in that moment, but he was so angry and hurtful, she couldn't bring herself to say the words. "It doesn't matter."
Raphael looked at her plainly, his face a mask of anger and disappointment. "Well I don't know how you ever expect me to understand anything when you never tell me anything at all."
She blinked as tears started to pool in her eyes. They glistened beneath the light of the hangar as they dripped down her cheeks. "There's so much you don't know...and wouldn't understand."
"So you don't even try to tell me. I understand. Why waste your time, right?"
She shivered as the artificially cool air blew against her pod-suit. "You'll only hate me more. Don't you think it is hard enough facing you now? Knowing you hate me?"
"I don't know what you expected me to do after what you've done to me. Was I supposed to be happy that you "finally found someone?" Tell me why you're expecting any sympathy at all."
"I'm not expecting anything from you," she said softly.
He stood there saying nothing, while looking at her, his face stern.
"Can I at least take a shower first?" she pleaded.
"I already said you could go," he said slightly dismissively.
She nodded and brushed past him, heading into her captain's quarters and made her way into the bathroom for a long, hot shower. A while later she exited her shower, having changed into some baggy cargo pants and a tee with a Concord star across the front.
Raphael had moved himself to the couch and she joined him on the opposite side. "Do you want a drink?" she asked as she threaded her fingers through her damp hair.
He shook his head. "No," he said shortly.
"Alright. You want an explanation." She bunched her hand up in her wet hair. "A long time ago, after us the first time. Right at the beginning of Eran. I met up with Zenton, I was upset. He calmed me down and one thing happened after another...and I ended up pregnant."
He raised his brows in disbelief and said with a hint of sarcasm, "One thing lead to another."
"We weren't even a couple- he was a pirate, then. And that is when things weren't safe for me, not that they ever are." She frowned at his sarcasm. "You know. Never mind this. You can leave. I don't owe you anything."
"I'm not talking about you 'betraying' me with this, mistake? Just how you simply smooth over it so blase' like."
She frowned, "We weren't together at the time." She pulled her feet up onto the sofa and rested her chin against her knees as she drew her legs to her chest.
"I know that. I just said that I'm not holding it against you. But pregnant?"
She nodded, "I wasn't with anyone. So I wasn't protected. It just happened. But I never told him. I never told anyone because those times were so dangerous. I didn't want a child to be used against us. And so I clone jumped out and had her adopted out in secret. I tried to forget about her, all these years, I tried to pretend she didn't exist. But she was always there, in the back of my mind. And Red picked up on it and Red found her." She glanced away, staring at the big screen across the room, though she paid no attention to what was flashing across it in bright red letters. "The Aposi, a Sani Sabik sect, was watching, in the background. And they found her. My daughter. And they killed her."
"They were watching what?"
She chewed her bottom lip. 'They were watching me. Red. I didn't know. They waited, and waited all this time, to really hurt me."
"So they found her through Red? The little wraith that I wanted to get rid of because I was afraid of information leaking out? And why would this 'Aposi' want to hurt you?"
She shook her head softly. "Who knows? A part of me thinks it was to settle an old score between them and my Father. But he is dead, so. I don't know. That is the point. I am blind in all of this. But I do know that they are everywhere. In the shadows. Hiding. But I will find them. And I will kill them."
"What does that have to do with you being here?"
"I'm following a lead, that someone in Tri is Aposi."
"Why didn't you ask Tiger? He's a blooder, I'm sure he's got connections."
"He was never a blooder. And not all Sani Sabik are connected."
"He was Revan's right hand man. You're going to tell me he wasn't a blooder?"
"Yes. That is exactly what I am going to tell you. They aren't the same thing."
He frowned and crossed his arms. "Fine. So you're here looking for blooders."
"Ones who killed my daughter," she said.
"You think that the ones who killed your daughter are in TRI."
She shook her head, "I don't know. But maybe. That is why I am here, to find out." She exhaled a soft breath. "I just hope it isn't Garst." Her eyes flicked to his, searching his face as she asked, "He can't be...can he?"
"I don't think he's given you a second thought, honestly. Why didn't you send anyone else to come out here and do this?"
"Because I don't trust anyone else to do it. And if I find them, I want to be the one to kill them."
Raphael continued to frown, arms crossed over his chest, "Well how about I look into it and you can go back to Huola where it's safer."
"I told you. I have to be here, cause if I find them, I have to be the one to kill them. With my own hands."
"Well I can call you if I find them."
"Why are you so keen on getting rid of me?"
"Because honestly, I don't want to be around you. "Never get married," you told me. Then the next thing I know I'm hearing from other people that you and Tiger and now husband and wife. It really doesn't make me want to see you, either in person or in space."
"I'm sorry, but I heard that you were seeing someone. From other people. And it just happened. But you can't deny me my justice. You can't, Raphael. They killed my daughter."
"Yeah, I'm sure it "just happened." I'm sure "one thing led to another" and you just ended up married." He stood up, "You know, if you thought I was seeing someone else, you should have confronted me. God knows you've done it enough in the past, it's not like you don't have any practice."
She dropped her head, burying it against her knees. Her hair fell around her face and legs in a silky curtain.
"Best of luck with your hunt," he said as he headed towards the exit. He opened the door, but before leaving he turned back around one more. "Oh, and of course congratulations on your nuptials," he said sarcastically before leaving.
Region: The Forge
Constellation: Mivora
Security Level: 0.2
Location: Perkone Factory Caldari State
She woke up in a cold sweat, her heart racing as blood pumped furiously through her veins. She realized it was just a dream as she blinked her eyes open. The horrific images began to fade, but the emotions lingered. Cold, oppressive fear slithered down her spine and she felt as if she were smothering. She gasped and tried to force her breathing to steady, telling herself that it was nothing more than a nightmare.
Sliding her hand through her blonde strands, she sat up and pulled her knees to her chest. The black silk sheet did little to warm her chilled skin. Teeth chattering, she turned her gaze to her captain's quarters. The room was unfamiliar and for a moment she had forgotten where she was. The realization came quickly as the corporation's logo flashed along one of the screens on the far side of the wall. She was in Uemon, in a cheap rented apartment on the space station that her new corp currently based out of.
Trimuverate. No Mercy. Garst Tyrell.
Fragmented memories rushed through her mind at once, filling her thoughts with flickering scenes from many years ago. The memories played like a bad melodramatic holo-reel, distorted shards of their past twisting and turning, as if being viewed through a kaleidoscope.
Once, he had been her superior in PIE, but also her friend. A mentor, who bought her her first slicer and taught her to fly a harbinger. Her hero, when he captured the star system Kamela.
And then he changed. Everything changed. She became afraid of him as he turned his back on her beloved Empire. His lust for blood out-shadowed her naivety and her idealistic imperial dreams. She played by the book, followed the rules and upheld the law.
He made his own rules, own laws, and forced those he fought to submit to his terms. He was a glorious and ruthless leader. A true conqueror of men, of space, of fame.
"You can't just take what you want." she had said to him once.
"Recent history says otherwise, and frankly, I'm beginning to like it."
His arrogance infuriated her. His ruthlessness terrified her. When he left their old corporation, he took some of Amarr's best pilots with him, nearly crippling her militia. She had never forgiven him.
She slid out of bed, wrapped up in her sheet and settled down onto the sofa to mindlessly watch the news reports roll across the screen. Incursions. Sovereignty changes. Concord. Though she tried to focus, her thoughts drifted, haunted by years old memories. One of their last conversations played through her mind.
"The ONLY good thing that came out of that bastard organization was that it showed me how NOT to run a corporation... and you. You really were a lucky find. It's a shame you threw away what I would have given you. Everything. I would have given you everything."
She shook her head. "I don't believe you. You left, Garst. You walked away from PIE, the Empire, me. You didn't even tell me you were going."
"The Empire and PIE have no place for men of ambition anymore. The frontier, that my dear, is where great men will make their mark and carve the next empire. Where the weak perish and only the strong survive. Yes Shalee, that is what I crave. Not the slow death of a complacent empire but the chance to make my mark or die trying on the edge."
"So go," she said dismissively. "No one is standing in your way. Go conquer it all for all I care."
"So that's it? Goodbye and good luck? Don't let the door hit you on the way out?" he said.
"What else do you want me to say? You are leaving regardless," she argued.
"Then convince me to stay," he said.
"You wont. There's nothing I can say to make you stay. I can't compete with your quest for glory, for your need to conquer."
"Maybe."
"Maybe? You know I'm right. I never could compete."
He was silent.
She stared at the holographic screen, challenging him. "Fine. Stay. I want you to stay."
"Why? So you can have something for you and your friends to hate. A puppet to point to and say 'Don't end up like that, oh ye faithful?' I don't want to stay. I want you to come with me."
"Come with you? Abandon the Empire? For what? To what avail?"
"Because I want you to come. Because I want to open your eyes and show you wonders you've only dreamed of, temptations you've denied for so long. There are no rules on the frontier. Only survival and victory."
"And this is what you desire?"
"I desire you. I always have."
It had been over five years since since he had uttered those words to her. Five years of her serving faithfully, dutifully, in the Amarr Militia, rising to the rank of Divine Commodore. She lead her own corporation, and then alliance, which became a dominant force in the Bleak Lands and surrounding systems.
He never looked back.
Five years, and she gave it all up in an instant to search for a illusive Sani Sabi sect that had infiltrated Triumvirate as they had her own corporation. At least that is where the intel was leading her.
Impulsively, she applied to his corporation, and without a word, was accepted.
Just like that. He hadn't contacted her or cared that she was there. No doubt, if he even remembered her at all, she'd be just another gun to him. Another soldier to fight his war. Raphael had told her, "I don't think he's given you a second thought, honestly."
And that was probably for the best...
[ 12 hours earlier ]
Shalee blinked open her eyes as the liquid drained from her pod. The murky, amber fluid flushed into the metal grating as the pod opened. The automatic clone-jack wires unplugged and coiled into the pod itself. As the mouthpiece fell from her mouth, she looked at Raphael who was standing there, arms folded, staring at her. She took a step forward onto the metal grating, dripping water. "I knew we would run into each other but I didn't know it would be so soon."
Raphael frowned at her, his voice a mixture of anger and confusion. "What are you doing here?"
She threaded her fingers through her soaked hair and squeezed the excess water out. "Joining your corporation. That's what."
"Why are you here?"
Shalee stared at him for a moment, "Why are you here?" she asked as she laid her hands on her hips loosely.
"Answer my goddamn question! You have no business here. Go back to Huola."
She lifted her chin, her blue eyes blazing with a sudden rush of anger. She knew she was going to have to face him and explain, but she didn't know it would be so soon. "But I do. And it is *my* business."
"Why can't you just fuckin' leave me alone? You made your goddamn choice, go fucking live with it. Let me be!"
Her thin brows furrowed, "And so did you." She kept her hands on her hips, chin raised imperiously, meeting his glare with one of her own, "So move it. You're in my way."
He threw his hands into the air. "What the hell does that mean?"
"It means you're blocking my way and I want to go take a shower. That is what it means. Now move. You have no right to be in my personal hangar." She shoved at him with one hand.
Raphael grabbed her by the wrist, "We don't need you here, go back to Tiger."
She jerked her arm, trying to pull away from him, "And yet I was accepted into your corporation, so someone needs me." She frowned at him, "Why don't you go back to Sara."
Raphael twisted his face in incomprehension. "Who the hell is Sara?"
"Jerk," she stared at him, hot anger flashing in her eyes, "So you've already broken off your engagement?"
"What the hell are you talking about!?"
"The woman you came here to marry?"
He looked at her, mute, unable to make any sense of her.
"Sara Morgaine? Red headed Khanid...." she explained.
"I don't know what you're talking about and I think you're just trying to weasel your way past me with this bullshit."
"Whatever," she said sarcastically, convinced he was lying. "Can you let me pass?"
"Why are you here?" he asked again.
"It's none of your business. Contrary to your belief, New Eden doesn't revolve around you. Nor do I. Now please, let me pass."
He practically threw her wrist back to her. "Do what you're here for and then get out and never bother me again."
She scoffed, "How am I bothering you! You're here in my chambers."
"You've come all the way out here to the other side of the cluster, and just happen to join the same corp I've been in for half a year!"
She rubbed at her wrist, "No. I'm here for a reason. I'm looking for someone inside of Triumvirate."
"What, need a second suitor again?" he said derisively.
She rolled her eyes, "You're an ass."
"Yeah, you're so much better."
"I wont be in your way. You'll hardly know I'm here."
"I can only hope."
She frowned deeply. "This is the first time we have talked in months and all you want to do is yell at me. Typical."
"You marry Tiger while I'm away. Marry him! The man who cheated on you! Who lied to you about it! Got someone else pregnant! Then you run up here and act like we're going to be the best of friends?"
She dropped her gaze as she huffed out a breath. Emotions overwhelmed her at once. "First off. I heard you were seeing someone else and that it was serious. Secondly.. I was a wreck and needed someone and you weren't there."
"Heard from who? Because I can guarantee you it was a lie. And a wreck over what? And why didn't you contact me? You know I'd have come, but what, because I wasn't living at the Terrace you felt I was "not there?"
She tilted her head, her blue eyes lingering upon his face. A part of her wanted to tell him everything right in that moment, but he was so angry and hurtful, she couldn't bring herself to say the words. "It doesn't matter."
Raphael looked at her plainly, his face a mask of anger and disappointment. "Well I don't know how you ever expect me to understand anything when you never tell me anything at all."
She blinked as tears started to pool in her eyes. They glistened beneath the light of the hangar as they dripped down her cheeks. "There's so much you don't know...and wouldn't understand."
"So you don't even try to tell me. I understand. Why waste your time, right?"
She shivered as the artificially cool air blew against her pod-suit. "You'll only hate me more. Don't you think it is hard enough facing you now? Knowing you hate me?"
"I don't know what you expected me to do after what you've done to me. Was I supposed to be happy that you "finally found someone?" Tell me why you're expecting any sympathy at all."
"I'm not expecting anything from you," she said softly.
He stood there saying nothing, while looking at her, his face stern.
"Can I at least take a shower first?" she pleaded.
"I already said you could go," he said slightly dismissively.
She nodded and brushed past him, heading into her captain's quarters and made her way into the bathroom for a long, hot shower. A while later she exited her shower, having changed into some baggy cargo pants and a tee with a Concord star across the front.
Raphael had moved himself to the couch and she joined him on the opposite side. "Do you want a drink?" she asked as she threaded her fingers through her damp hair.
He shook his head. "No," he said shortly.
"Alright. You want an explanation." She bunched her hand up in her wet hair. "A long time ago, after us the first time. Right at the beginning of Eran. I met up with Zenton, I was upset. He calmed me down and one thing happened after another...and I ended up pregnant."
He raised his brows in disbelief and said with a hint of sarcasm, "One thing lead to another."
"We weren't even a couple- he was a pirate, then. And that is when things weren't safe for me, not that they ever are." She frowned at his sarcasm. "You know. Never mind this. You can leave. I don't owe you anything."
"I'm not talking about you 'betraying' me with this, mistake? Just how you simply smooth over it so blase' like."
She frowned, "We weren't together at the time." She pulled her feet up onto the sofa and rested her chin against her knees as she drew her legs to her chest.
"I know that. I just said that I'm not holding it against you. But pregnant?"
She nodded, "I wasn't with anyone. So I wasn't protected. It just happened. But I never told him. I never told anyone because those times were so dangerous. I didn't want a child to be used against us. And so I clone jumped out and had her adopted out in secret. I tried to forget about her, all these years, I tried to pretend she didn't exist. But she was always there, in the back of my mind. And Red picked up on it and Red found her." She glanced away, staring at the big screen across the room, though she paid no attention to what was flashing across it in bright red letters. "The Aposi, a Sani Sabik sect, was watching, in the background. And they found her. My daughter. And they killed her."
"They were watching what?"
She chewed her bottom lip. 'They were watching me. Red. I didn't know. They waited, and waited all this time, to really hurt me."
"So they found her through Red? The little wraith that I wanted to get rid of because I was afraid of information leaking out? And why would this 'Aposi' want to hurt you?"
She shook her head softly. "Who knows? A part of me thinks it was to settle an old score between them and my Father. But he is dead, so. I don't know. That is the point. I am blind in all of this. But I do know that they are everywhere. In the shadows. Hiding. But I will find them. And I will kill them."
"What does that have to do with you being here?"
"I'm following a lead, that someone in Tri is Aposi."
"Why didn't you ask Tiger? He's a blooder, I'm sure he's got connections."
"He was never a blooder. And not all Sani Sabik are connected."
"He was Revan's right hand man. You're going to tell me he wasn't a blooder?"
"Yes. That is exactly what I am going to tell you. They aren't the same thing."
He frowned and crossed his arms. "Fine. So you're here looking for blooders."
"Ones who killed my daughter," she said.
"You think that the ones who killed your daughter are in TRI."
She shook her head, "I don't know. But maybe. That is why I am here, to find out." She exhaled a soft breath. "I just hope it isn't Garst." Her eyes flicked to his, searching his face as she asked, "He can't be...can he?"
"I don't think he's given you a second thought, honestly. Why didn't you send anyone else to come out here and do this?"
"Because I don't trust anyone else to do it. And if I find them, I want to be the one to kill them."
Raphael continued to frown, arms crossed over his chest, "Well how about I look into it and you can go back to Huola where it's safer."
"I told you. I have to be here, cause if I find them, I have to be the one to kill them. With my own hands."
"Well I can call you if I find them."
"Why are you so keen on getting rid of me?"
"Because honestly, I don't want to be around you. "Never get married," you told me. Then the next thing I know I'm hearing from other people that you and Tiger and now husband and wife. It really doesn't make me want to see you, either in person or in space."
"I'm sorry, but I heard that you were seeing someone. From other people. And it just happened. But you can't deny me my justice. You can't, Raphael. They killed my daughter."
"Yeah, I'm sure it "just happened." I'm sure "one thing led to another" and you just ended up married." He stood up, "You know, if you thought I was seeing someone else, you should have confronted me. God knows you've done it enough in the past, it's not like you don't have any practice."
She dropped her head, burying it against her knees. Her hair fell around her face and legs in a silky curtain.
"Best of luck with your hunt," he said as he headed towards the exit. He opened the door, but before leaving he turned back around one more. "Oh, and of course congratulations on your nuptials," he said sarcastically before leaving.
Wednesday, March 11, 2015
Kenzi Created, The Story of a Clone
I tucked my hair behind my ear as the soft, balmy breeze fluttered blonde strands about my face. I could feel salt clinging to my skin as I inhaled the sweet scent of the nearby ocean. I paused to savor the fresh, crisp air. Sunlight dappled the ground as it bled through the foliage overhead, casting Cerra gardens in a myriad of light and shadow. It was beautiful. I continued my walk through the lush landscape, pausing to admire a particular blue flower imported from Adia.
Memories of Adia, the planet of my birth, fluttered through my mind. Some deep, dark part of me longed for what I once knew, despite how when I lived there, all I wanted to do was leave it.
I laughed with scorn as the traitorous thoughts drifted through my mind. I couldn't believe I actually missed them. I thought of my father and brothers. My Father had been a Holder, a favorite among the royal court. His natural charm wove a spell over most anyone he came into contact with. My brothers were the epitome of noble elegance. We lived a beautiful, privileged life. On the outside, anyhow. Very few were privy to our immoral, Sani Sabik secrets.
Oppressive emotions swirled as I remembered my life- the life that was stolen away by another. My last original memory before awakening in a cloned body was of my Father, telling me that the medical scan wouldn't hurt, that it would be a quick and painless procedure. He squeezed my fingers and smiled indulgently. I wondered how it was possible to both love and hate someone with equal passion.
Little did I know in that moment that the procedure was to secure a brain scan for cloning purposes- a safeguard in light of my last suicide attempt. I would never be allowed to leave my family. Even dying wasn't an option.
The scan was tucked away somewhere safe by my Father and somehow along the timeline, was discovered (stolen?) by Tigerfish Torpedo, and activated. Five years had passed between that mindscan and when I was awakened.
Later I would learn that I was an illegal clone of Shalee Lianne- though in my mind, Shalee was a copy of me.
I was familiar with the details of Shalee's life. She ran away, and was taken in by some mercenaries. She became a capsuleer, then a spy. She found love in the Imperial Militia and stayed. Her career was impressive. She climbed her way through the ranks, and became a Divine Commodore. She flew with some of the best capsuleers in all of New Eden. She was fiercly loyal to Imperial Militia and those she loved and cared about.
Yes, I was familiar with the course of events that could have been my life, of all the choices the clone had made. I knew far too much about what had happened in the life of her. Our namesake. Shalee Lianne.
A name that had been my own with a history that was mine too.
Because of the choices Shalee had made, some noble, others horrific, I was brought into existence, born into the world-into a stolen clone of Shalee aboard the Indefatigable in the deep recesses of Null Sec. Brought to life by Shalee's then ex, who had obsessed over her so much that he couldn't bear to be apart from her.
And so he cloned her.
He secretly brought to life my scan- a seventeen year old Shalee, one that had been on the cusp of womanhood, living under her Father's rule. Tiger kept me hidden away in lawless space for months, filling my head with lies about what all had happened with my family- coaxing me into trusting him, building a relationship with me, and waiting for me to fall in love with him.
It almost happened.
He showered me with gifts, and spent an enormous amount of time with me each day. His seduction was slow and methodical. He kept me secluded in space, away from everyone that I had ever known, 'for my own safety'. I wasn't allowed contact with anyone, even his own crew.
Despite my seclusion, I was rarely lonely. I could sit for hours at the view-port and gaze out at the stars. Space agreed with me; the haunting beauty of planets and moons illuminated by colorful suns, nebulae and space dust utterly fascinated me.
I was happy, for once, living under the illusion of having 'freedom'. I was allowed to explore the ship to my heart's content- only I wasn't allowed access to the holonet or communications. For my own protection, he said, and that of the crew. We were cloaked, drifting aimlessly through space.
It was a peaceful and quiet sort of existence, until Lasairiona Raske, Tiger's mistress, had surprised him with a visit and found me instead. Illusions were shattered as I realized that Tiger had lied about everything.
Lasa had filled me in on the last five years. I was a copy of another. She told me how Shalee had became a capsuleer, and had met Tiger. The two eventually became engaged, though she had broken it off because she felt Tiger was keeping secrets. And her gut feeling had been right, Tiger had indeed been keeping the biggest secret of all- that he had a mistress whom he impregnated. With twins.
I made a rash decision in that moment and asked her to help me escape. When Tiger had returned to the Indefatigable, he found it empty, though he must have realized what had happened. There would have been a record of Lasa boarding.
She had been gracious enough to leave me with a bit of ISK and a warning to stay away from Concorded space. If I were found, Concord would be forced to eliminate both me and the other Shalee, because it was forbidden for two clones of the same person to be active at the same time.
I was left with nothing, lost in space and time. Drifting aimlessly, with no place to call home because she had claimed it. I couldn't contact the people from my past because they no longer belonged to me. I was an abomination, an unnatural thing created from the whim's of Tiger's twisted, dark obsession.
I ran and I hid until I had used the last bit of ISK Lasa had given me. In desperation, I tried to access funds that were left to me by my Grandmother. Of course access was denied; apparently Shalee had changed the access codes...but that one attempt was enough to pique the interest of someone who monitored all things digital in Shalee's life.
They called her Red.
Red, a childlike avatar of Shalee's subconscious, kept a watchful eye in the holographic realm. She haunted anything she had access to, constantly prying into Shalee's affairs, and those of the people she was close to. Red manifested in the real world too via holodrones. She projected herself as a child and carried on her own agendas, because as Shalee slept, Red would awaken. When Shalee awakened, she'd never remember what Red had done. But Red remembered everything.
Red found me in a boarder system near Empire after I tried to withdraw ISK that was rightfully mine. I can't even describe how utterly bizare it was to carry on a conversation with a hologram of my five year old self. She helped me, though. She gave me enough ISK to stay on the run, with a warning that I should never enter Concord space. If I tried, and was caught by Concord, it would be the end of all of us- no questions asked.
As I hid, Red informed some of Shalee's most trusted friends of my existence. Aldrith Shutak was the first to find me. He offered me an apartment and visited me frequently. He had planned to help me create a new identity. I was then entrusted into the care of Raphael Saint, another who had put me under lock and key with offers of a new identity.
Hide, they said. Be someone else, they said. Our lives depended on it, they said.
But it wasn't fair. It wasn't just.
I hated it and wanted no part of a new life. I wanted what was rightfully mine. Someone else had been living my life all of these years. An impostor. And yet, I realized I was just as much an impostor as she. None of it was fair, to either of us.
Yes, I'll admit it. Some dark part of me, that part honed by the Sani Sabik, thought about killing her. It would be too easy to murder her and take her place. I doubt anyone would have realized until it was too late, and then what could they do about it? Some nights I'd let the fantasy play out as I lie in my bed in my humble apartment hidden away from society. Kill her, and become the Cerra Holder. Claim everything- our past, everything that was rightfully mine, and everything that she has built afterwards. Take it all.
I almost did it. Once. I went to Cerra Manor as her. I knew she was away, and that there wouldn't be a chance of us being at the same place at the same time. I had it all down pat- her clothes, her hair. I interacted with her friends on the terrace easily enough...and then I saw him.
Tigerfish Torpedo.
The man who was responsible for everything. My very existence...and my utter misery.
I didn't go there with the intentions of killing him, but the opportunity presented itself. I lured him out onto the beach, pretending to be her. He followed like the lovesick puppy that he was. I got him into a compromised position and I did it. Just like that. I murdered him with a blade I had taken from the terrace. In that moment I unleashed months of fury as I drove the blade over and over into his chest. As his blood splattered my face and dripped down my wrists, I stared into his lifeless eyes and spit in his face.
I hated that man more than I hated anyone in my whole entire life.
Though he died, it gave me little relief or comfort. He was a capsuleer, after all. He would clone, and suffer little for all that he had done. In fact, he wouldn't even remember me killing him since he died out of a pod.
But the seed had been planted. I would destroy him. Somehow. Someday.
Memories of Adia, the planet of my birth, fluttered through my mind. Some deep, dark part of me longed for what I once knew, despite how when I lived there, all I wanted to do was leave it.
I laughed with scorn as the traitorous thoughts drifted through my mind. I couldn't believe I actually missed them. I thought of my father and brothers. My Father had been a Holder, a favorite among the royal court. His natural charm wove a spell over most anyone he came into contact with. My brothers were the epitome of noble elegance. We lived a beautiful, privileged life. On the outside, anyhow. Very few were privy to our immoral, Sani Sabik secrets.
Oppressive emotions swirled as I remembered my life- the life that was stolen away by another. My last original memory before awakening in a cloned body was of my Father, telling me that the medical scan wouldn't hurt, that it would be a quick and painless procedure. He squeezed my fingers and smiled indulgently. I wondered how it was possible to both love and hate someone with equal passion.
Little did I know in that moment that the procedure was to secure a brain scan for cloning purposes- a safeguard in light of my last suicide attempt. I would never be allowed to leave my family. Even dying wasn't an option.
The scan was tucked away somewhere safe by my Father and somehow along the timeline, was discovered (stolen?) by Tigerfish Torpedo, and activated. Five years had passed between that mindscan and when I was awakened.
Later I would learn that I was an illegal clone of Shalee Lianne- though in my mind, Shalee was a copy of me.
I was familiar with the details of Shalee's life. She ran away, and was taken in by some mercenaries. She became a capsuleer, then a spy. She found love in the Imperial Militia and stayed. Her career was impressive. She climbed her way through the ranks, and became a Divine Commodore. She flew with some of the best capsuleers in all of New Eden. She was fiercly loyal to Imperial Militia and those she loved and cared about.
Yes, I was familiar with the course of events that could have been my life, of all the choices the clone had made. I knew far too much about what had happened in the life of her. Our namesake. Shalee Lianne.
A name that had been my own with a history that was mine too.
Because of the choices Shalee had made, some noble, others horrific, I was brought into existence, born into the world-into a stolen clone of Shalee aboard the Indefatigable in the deep recesses of Null Sec. Brought to life by Shalee's then ex, who had obsessed over her so much that he couldn't bear to be apart from her.
And so he cloned her.
He secretly brought to life my scan- a seventeen year old Shalee, one that had been on the cusp of womanhood, living under her Father's rule. Tiger kept me hidden away in lawless space for months, filling my head with lies about what all had happened with my family- coaxing me into trusting him, building a relationship with me, and waiting for me to fall in love with him.
It almost happened.
He showered me with gifts, and spent an enormous amount of time with me each day. His seduction was slow and methodical. He kept me secluded in space, away from everyone that I had ever known, 'for my own safety'. I wasn't allowed contact with anyone, even his own crew.
Despite my seclusion, I was rarely lonely. I could sit for hours at the view-port and gaze out at the stars. Space agreed with me; the haunting beauty of planets and moons illuminated by colorful suns, nebulae and space dust utterly fascinated me.
I was happy, for once, living under the illusion of having 'freedom'. I was allowed to explore the ship to my heart's content- only I wasn't allowed access to the holonet or communications. For my own protection, he said, and that of the crew. We were cloaked, drifting aimlessly through space.
It was a peaceful and quiet sort of existence, until Lasairiona Raske, Tiger's mistress, had surprised him with a visit and found me instead. Illusions were shattered as I realized that Tiger had lied about everything.
Lasa had filled me in on the last five years. I was a copy of another. She told me how Shalee had became a capsuleer, and had met Tiger. The two eventually became engaged, though she had broken it off because she felt Tiger was keeping secrets. And her gut feeling had been right, Tiger had indeed been keeping the biggest secret of all- that he had a mistress whom he impregnated. With twins.
I made a rash decision in that moment and asked her to help me escape. When Tiger had returned to the Indefatigable, he found it empty, though he must have realized what had happened. There would have been a record of Lasa boarding.
She had been gracious enough to leave me with a bit of ISK and a warning to stay away from Concorded space. If I were found, Concord would be forced to eliminate both me and the other Shalee, because it was forbidden for two clones of the same person to be active at the same time.
I was left with nothing, lost in space and time. Drifting aimlessly, with no place to call home because she had claimed it. I couldn't contact the people from my past because they no longer belonged to me. I was an abomination, an unnatural thing created from the whim's of Tiger's twisted, dark obsession.
I ran and I hid until I had used the last bit of ISK Lasa had given me. In desperation, I tried to access funds that were left to me by my Grandmother. Of course access was denied; apparently Shalee had changed the access codes...but that one attempt was enough to pique the interest of someone who monitored all things digital in Shalee's life.
They called her Red.
Red, a childlike avatar of Shalee's subconscious, kept a watchful eye in the holographic realm. She haunted anything she had access to, constantly prying into Shalee's affairs, and those of the people she was close to. Red manifested in the real world too via holodrones. She projected herself as a child and carried on her own agendas, because as Shalee slept, Red would awaken. When Shalee awakened, she'd never remember what Red had done. But Red remembered everything.
Red found me in a boarder system near Empire after I tried to withdraw ISK that was rightfully mine. I can't even describe how utterly bizare it was to carry on a conversation with a hologram of my five year old self. She helped me, though. She gave me enough ISK to stay on the run, with a warning that I should never enter Concord space. If I tried, and was caught by Concord, it would be the end of all of us- no questions asked.
As I hid, Red informed some of Shalee's most trusted friends of my existence. Aldrith Shutak was the first to find me. He offered me an apartment and visited me frequently. He had planned to help me create a new identity. I was then entrusted into the care of Raphael Saint, another who had put me under lock and key with offers of a new identity.
Hide, they said. Be someone else, they said. Our lives depended on it, they said.
But it wasn't fair. It wasn't just.
I hated it and wanted no part of a new life. I wanted what was rightfully mine. Someone else had been living my life all of these years. An impostor. And yet, I realized I was just as much an impostor as she. None of it was fair, to either of us.
Yes, I'll admit it. Some dark part of me, that part honed by the Sani Sabik, thought about killing her. It would be too easy to murder her and take her place. I doubt anyone would have realized until it was too late, and then what could they do about it? Some nights I'd let the fantasy play out as I lie in my bed in my humble apartment hidden away from society. Kill her, and become the Cerra Holder. Claim everything- our past, everything that was rightfully mine, and everything that she has built afterwards. Take it all.
I almost did it. Once. I went to Cerra Manor as her. I knew she was away, and that there wouldn't be a chance of us being at the same place at the same time. I had it all down pat- her clothes, her hair. I interacted with her friends on the terrace easily enough...and then I saw him.
Tigerfish Torpedo.
The man who was responsible for everything. My very existence...and my utter misery.
I didn't go there with the intentions of killing him, but the opportunity presented itself. I lured him out onto the beach, pretending to be her. He followed like the lovesick puppy that he was. I got him into a compromised position and I did it. Just like that. I murdered him with a blade I had taken from the terrace. In that moment I unleashed months of fury as I drove the blade over and over into his chest. As his blood splattered my face and dripped down my wrists, I stared into his lifeless eyes and spit in his face.
I hated that man more than I hated anyone in my whole entire life.
Though he died, it gave me little relief or comfort. He was a capsuleer, after all. He would clone, and suffer little for all that he had done. In fact, he wouldn't even remember me killing him since he died out of a pod.
But the seed had been planted. I would destroy him. Somehow. Someday.
Friday, February 6, 2015
Shards of Glass
Her hologram roamed the terrace while she slept nearby, curled up on an outdoor sofa in the far corner. Rain splattered onto the retractable roof and puddled in the gardens. The occasional rumble of thunder reverberated in the distance.
Red, the name given to the holographic, child-like subconscious manifestation of Shalee, stood guard at the entrance, watching as Vlad Cetes exited the landing pad in the distance and made a brisk dash through the rain to the terrace. He gave her a quick smirk as he passed by, on his way to the bar. He pulled off his jacket and shook it, dripping water onto the flagstones.
The holographic girl followed after, giggling as she mimicked a robot, arms and legs stiff, her voice metallic, "I am Vlad."
"Oh, free entertainment," he looked to her as he settled down onto a bar-stool and ordered his usual. Vodka, straight up.
As Tigerfish Torpedo entered the terrace, the hologram froze, then frowned while rolling her eyes.
Vlad Cetes smirked. "Maybe she will do an impression of you," said to Tiger.
Tigerfish Torpedo frowned at her as he neared the bar, "I doubt it."
"I am Tigerfish," Red said, mocking his Civire accent. "I blood people." She ran her finger across her throat as if it were a knife. Blood spurted, and dripped from her small pale throat and splattered onto the lacy white dress she wore in her holographic form.
Tigerfish exchanged a glance with Vlad. "Seems she does a better impression of you then me." He grinned, and turned his attention back to Red. "I don't do that any more."
The little girl blinked. "I don't believe you," she announced in a sing-songy voice. "If it were so, you wouldn't block me out of your stuff."
"My stuff?" he asked, brow quirked. "What do you mean?"
"Your communications."
"My communications? When did you even try to access them?" Tiger asked.
The little girl rolled her piercing blue eyes again, "Lots and lots. You didn't want me to find out your secrets, but I did find out about Erica, didn't I? And I left it on her holo-pad." She pointed to Shalee's sleeping form, looking pretty smug about the whole thing. "And you got in trouble."
"Who is Erica?" Vlad asked.
"A girl," Red answered, while keeping her gaze glued to Tiger.
Tigerfish nodded. "So it was you? Well, you have my admiration, Red. You're more cunning than I ever imagined. But," he paused, "you need to face facts. That beautiful woman..." he gestured over to Shalee. "... is my wife."
Red lifted her gaze to the sky and gave a loud, exasperated sigh. "I know." She sulked, "She's even tried to lock me up cause of it and it is all YOUR fault!"
Tiger looked to Shalee's sleeping form and smiled at her. "Red, you and I don't have to be at loggerheads. I'm no more a Blooder than you."
"Says the other person who the Covenant recognized as a keeper of the faith," Vlad countered.
Red glanced down at her bloodied dress. "I get tired of her believing in you." She smoothed her hands down her dress, then flicked her gaze to Vlad. "Is that so?" Her interest was piqued.
"Of course it's not," Tiger said, turning his icy glare over from Vlad to Red. "Red, I'm not willing to argue with you over this matter. Shalee has every right to believe in me, for I'm a much better man than the one she first met."
Vlad clicked the holo emitter for Red, and uploaded the security footage from Silas Vitalia's party from over two years ago. Silas Vitalia, the beautiful Imperial-turned-Blooder. She had been a friend to Shalee long before she defected.
Red bunched up her brows and pursed her lips as her gaze settled upon Tiger. "Dunno why I should believe you. I know that you lie a lot."
"Then don't believe me. Frankly, as long as Shalee loves and believes me, I'm sure I'll be alright." He gave the girl a smile and turned away from her.
Red frowned and crossed her arms, her lips tugged into a full blown pout. "You know that I know what she thinks." She looked at him matter-of-factly, then grinned smugly as if she had a secret.
"What is that supposed to mean?" Tiger asked with a hint of worry edging his voice.
The hologram smirked. "Not telling."
He shook his head, "You know nothing. She's my wife and she loves me."
Red dropped her head and lifted her blue gaze to him, her expression eerie, "Oh, I know everything."
Tiger glanced over to Shalee, her form peacefully resting on the sofa, deep in sleep. "Is that so? Then deliver the blow you crave and tell me."
"I don't have to tell you anything." She turned her back to him and swept her hand in front of her dress, instantly changing it into the crisp, white lace that it was. "Voila!"
"Red," Vlad spoke. "What is your goal?"
Tiger answered. "To split me and Shalee, obviously."
Red nodded, agreeing. "And maybe you could die too." She raised her chin imperiously and said, "I wanted her to marry Eran. Not you."
Tiger drummed his fingers on the surface of the bar, "Eran? What, Eran Mintor? You genuinely think he'd have been a better choice for her, then I?"
Red nodded matter-of-factly. "Yes. He was always nice to me. Brought me things. Played with me. Took care of her. What do you do?"
"I could have been just as nice to you. But you're horrid; not a good little girl at all. In fact, you're a bad girl."
Red gasped and stomped her foot. Rage flashed across her face, her tiny hands balled into fists. "No I'm NOT!" She glared at him.
"Yes you are," he pushed. "Whereas I've changed myself for the better, you're still the same spiteful little girl you were when we first met." He shook his head softly from side to side, and added, "It's really very sad."
"Does Shalee know of this?" Vlad asked. "This desire for Mintor instead of Tigerfish?"
Red ignored Vlad as she darted her gaze around frantically, searching for something, anything, to hurt him with. Since it had been raining, the retractable roof had been pulled across the terrace, with several lights dangling down, illuminating the area. She focused on them, causing them to explode, one by one.
Tigerfish looked up as the first one exploded, ducking his head to avoid any debris. His mouth opened and he tried to speak, but his words were drowned out by the exploding bulbs.
Vlad flicked a bulb fragment out of his left arm. "Red, control yourself. Now."
Red found no satisfaction in the paltry display. She searched the terrace but nothing else was manipulatable. No doors to slam. No other electronics around that she could access. She glanced to the landing pad, her mind reeling with the possibility, until Vlad scolded her. She settled her angry hot gaze upon him. "Why should I?!"
Tigerfish looked over at Vlad. "Leave her be. She's angry that she's lost all control over me." With a somewhat smug grin - like the one Red had a little while ago - he looked back to the girl. "Admit it, you've lost. Shalee and I are married."
Time seemed to stand still for the little girl as Tiger looked at her with such smug satisfaction. "It's not over. You've won nothing..." she said in a very low, whispery voice. "Your wedding vows mean nothing because you've said them before."
"Shalee Lianne is the first person that I have seen actually control Tigerfish in a long time. The last one is presumed dead." Vlad said.
"And with Shalee, it'll be the last time I say them," he said, bowing his head to Vlad in response to his comment. "Red, I love that woman."
Predator Elite entered the terrace wearing his old beat up fleet commanders jacket in time for Red's temper tantrum. "And I HATE YOU!" she yelled at Tiger.
"Well isn't it lucky you're not married to me, then?!" he responded, his voice raising a little - unaware of Pred's arrival behind him.
"Maybe Red should be a fleet commander in Goonswarm with that display of anger," Vlad smirked.
Predator glanced over to Red and Tiger yelling, "What's going on?"
The holographic little girl noticed Pred's arrival and screamed at him, "WILL YOU JUST HIT HIM FOR ME!" she thrusted her finger in Tiger's direction. "Hard!"
Pred quirked a brow as he looked to the girl, "What is wrong?"
"She doesn't like me," Tiger said.
"Because I hate him and I want you to hurt him for me!"
"Why do you hate him?" he asked as he took a seat.
Tiger smirked. "Because Red's a big meanie!"
The child took a step back, annoyed that Pred didn't instantly do her bidding. She put him on 'The List Of Men To Hate', and turned her back to him while glancing up, frowning because there are no more light-bulbs to explode.
"These holo units do have power off switches, correct?" Vlad asked.
Red glared at Vlad. "Don't you dare."
Pred pulled a toy holo-ship and held it in his hand, stretching it towards Red. "If I remember right, you used to love these things."
The girl smiled, calming as she connected with the holo-ship. An eerie smile stretched across her mouth as her temper tantrum dissipated instantly. She focused on maneuvering the ship, "I bet I can make it fly," she said as it lifted into the air.
"So Red how have you been?" he ordered a drink from the waiter.
Tiger moved away from the bar as Red became distracted by the holo-ship, then approached Shalee's sleeping form on the sofa. Kneeling down by her side, he brushed a strand of hair from her brow and placed a soft kiss on her cheek.
Red shrugged her shoulders, "Fine." She swayed her finger in the air, causing the ship to fly towards the back of Tiger's head. But as Tiger kissed Shalee, she awoke, and the ship crashed to the floor before it reached him, and the holo-drone deactivated as Red disappeared.
Shalee sat up with a start, having a lingering feeling of hot rage coursing through her. She could never remember Red's explorations, and rarely knew what her digital avatar got herself into- unless Red specifically left her clues. But always, she'd feel the last remnants of emotions, though it surprised her how deep the rage simmered within. Unadulterated hate pulsed through every fiber of her being. She shook her head, trying to bring the emotions under control as she looked to Tiger.
Smile, she told herself. Play the part. Buying time, she yawned sleepily and glanced to Predator and Vlad. "Did I fall asleep?" She then noticed the broken glass, and glanced up to see all of the lights were out. "What happened?" she asked, though she had a pretty good idea judging by the tidal wave of emotions crashing through her.
Tiger placed his hand over hers, tapping it softly. "It's nothing, and yes, you've been asleep since I arrived. I didn't want to wake you though - you looked so peaceful."
She flicked her gaze back to Tiger and forced an adoring smile. Play the part, she told herself.
Another voice, a tiny child like voice echoed in the back of her mind, "Just kill him."
Sunday, February 1, 2015
Dark Unions
She awoke with a gasp as forced memories flickered through her mind, quick flashes of a capsuleer's life being fed into her new body after her podding.
The last memory settled into place. There had been a fight to gain control over a military complex. They were overpowered, and lost their ships one by one, and then she warped out. She realized her mistake before she landed. She had accidentally chosen a star-gate, a mistake that would cost her her life. The smart-bombing pilot, Mystical Might, had been there waiting, like a leech clinging to a bloody animal. Her pod was eviscerated, her corpse offered up to the darkness of space as her consciousness was ported into her new clone.
She settled her blue gaze upon her medical pod technician, staring blankly at him as she sorted her memories.
The past few years jumbled into a kaleidoscope of hazy moments of time. A smile tugged at the corners of her mouth as she remembered her wedding. She had married Tigerfish Torpedo in an impromptu, spur-of-the-moment wedding at the cathedral he had built for her on her estate. Reginald Sakakibara married Katerina Tzestu at the same time.
Her honeymoon. A long stretch of time, of nothing but her and Tiger upon a luxury cruiser exploring star system after star system.
She blinked several times as the happy memories shifted. She shook her head as if she could force those horrible, dark memories away. Learning of the death of her daughter- a child she'd never held, or even acknowledged. A child no one should have known of, one that she tried to hide away from her enemies, and his.
Zenton Karvash. A sweet reprieve from her torturous memories. Zenton, once her corp mate when they were in PIE. And then he'd left to pirate, but that didn't stop their love. Not at first, anyhow.
Tears slid from the corners of her eyes as she remembered finding out she was pregnant. It was an impossible situation. She couldn't tell him, couldn't be with him, couldn't bare the thought of their child being used against them. She had cloned jumped out and adopted the child out, far away from their wars and troubles.
For five years she had stayed away, though she'd kept the child in the back of her mind. The little girl was always there, haunting her from afar. And apparently it became too much. A part of her, the part of her that manifested when she slept, the part that activated the holonet and holodrones in the form of a red headed child searched for her daughter.
...and that is how they found her.
The Aposi, a sect of Sani Sabik so secretive that very few even knew existed, found the child and used it against her. Her torture was slow and precise. And deadly. It was a reminder. They hadn't forgot the sins of her Father, nor the promises that were made in her behalf.
Their power was immense. Unfathomable.
She shook her head again as she sorted the memories. No. Her daughter died. She closed her alliance and corp, to stop them from using those pilots against her- or even infiltrating to get close to her. To stop them from using what little power she had within the war-zone.
She blinked again as the memories slid into place. Death. Closing. And then marriage.
But why? Why did she marry? The image of Tiger flashed through her mind. Her emotions swirled suddenly; a tempest of love, lust, and darkness. Betrayal.
He betrayed me?
She shook her head again, trying to make sense of what was falling into place inside of her mind, memories falling like rain.
Betrayal, the emotion pulsed hotly, smothering out all others.
She suddenly felt as if she couldn't breathe. Her pod tech neared her, "Lady Lianne?"
Her stormy gaze settled upon him and she nodded, "It's okay. I'm okay." She forced a smile to her mouth, one to hide the sea of emotion that was threatening to drown her. As she pulled herself from the clone vat, she inhaled deeply and exhaled, forcing herself to accept the one thing that kept forcing itself to the front of her mind.
Tiger was Aposi.
Saturday, November 1, 2014
Trouble In Paradise
Subject: From the Front
From: Reginald Sakakibara
My lady,
I am pleased to offer you, on the 1st of November, YC 116, the system of Frerstorn.
Your humble servant,
Reginald Sakakibara
"Is something the matter?" Dr Witwer asked as he noticed her frowning.
Shalee glanced up from her neocomm, the neon blue lettering flickering a soft glow across her face. "The push for Frestorn was successful. In fact, it was captured ahead of schedule."
"Isn't that good news?" he asked.
"Yes, of course. It's just that...I feel guilty for not being there," she admitted softly.
"You can't be everywhere at all times," he reasoned.
"I know. But that doesn't take away the guilt. Sometimes I feel that the bureaucracy of running a corporation takes away from my true purpose."
"And that is?" he prompted.
"To be on the front lines. I should have been there, fighting beside my men."
"From what I understand, there wasn't a lot of fighting involved. They more or less surrendered the system and fled with their tails between their legs to Auner." The news had been all over the holonet since the reclaiming.
"It feels selfish, to be here when so much is happening elsewhere."
"I have a feeling this isn't just about Frerstorn."
"No, I guess not."
"Do you want to talk about it?"
She chewed her bottom lip, debating a moment, before saying, "Yeah, I guess. I'm just so worried about so many people right now that I can't ever seem to relax."
He gave her a knowing look, "And you claim not to trust people. You wouldn't worry about so many if you didn't care."
"I never claimed not to care. Caring and trusting aren't the same," she countered.
"They are very close. Both make you extremely vulnerable... and therein lies your problem. You wont let yourself be vulnerable to those you love and care for."
"Why should I?"
"Because you are human."
"That is debatable, according to some; being a capsuleer and all," she said wryly.
"Being a clone doesn't make you any less human."
"But it does complicate things. By all accounts I should be dead by now. Instead, I know I have lifetimes yet to live, to carry this burden of guilt."
"Then let us talk about it. What is weighing on your mind the most."
"I wouldn't even know where to begin."
"Ryven," Witwer supplied. "Tell me about his situation."
Shalee pursed her lips in displeasure. "I had him arrested the other night. I just couldn't ignore it anymore."
"Ignore what?" he asked.
"His new persona. I don't understand how it works, only that he is not himself. He is dark, twisted, and sick. He came to the terrace wearing a coat made of...human. And he was just so nonchalant about it! As if it were an ordinary thing! I called for the guards, but of course he wouldn't go down easily. It just so happened, Lunarisse's personal security guard, Alexa, was there doing some recon on the rooftop. She asked if I needed assistance. I told her to shoot, but that I wanted him alive. I didn't want Ryven to die. Dying would mean escape. I wanted to lock him up before he could do anymore harm."
She continued, "After the shots were fired, Vlad Cetes activated some sort of cloaking device and left the terrace. Minutes later, two of Reginald's men were found murdered at the new Cathedral's construction site. It was chaotic. Still is. Alexa was an enormous help, so I asked her to unofficially help out with the investigation."
"What did she come up with?"
Shalee forwarded the neo-comm message to Witwer:
Subject: Arrest Warrant
From: Alexa de'Crux
My investigation of the holotapes has provided evidence to support charges against two individuals.
With your permission, I will arrest both Reginald Sakakibara and Vlad Cetes on charges of murder in the first degree and criminal conspiracy.
Witwer looked surprised, "What would he have to gain by murdering two of his own men?"
"I wish I knew..."
From: Reginald Sakakibara
My lady,
I am pleased to offer you, on the 1st of November, YC 116, the system of Frerstorn.
Your humble servant,
Reginald Sakakibara
"Is something the matter?" Dr Witwer asked as he noticed her frowning.
Shalee glanced up from her neocomm, the neon blue lettering flickering a soft glow across her face. "The push for Frestorn was successful. In fact, it was captured ahead of schedule."
"Isn't that good news?" he asked.
"Yes, of course. It's just that...I feel guilty for not being there," she admitted softly.
"You can't be everywhere at all times," he reasoned.
"I know. But that doesn't take away the guilt. Sometimes I feel that the bureaucracy of running a corporation takes away from my true purpose."
"And that is?" he prompted.
"To be on the front lines. I should have been there, fighting beside my men."
"From what I understand, there wasn't a lot of fighting involved. They more or less surrendered the system and fled with their tails between their legs to Auner." The news had been all over the holonet since the reclaiming.
"It feels selfish, to be here when so much is happening elsewhere."
"I have a feeling this isn't just about Frerstorn."
"No, I guess not."
"Do you want to talk about it?"
She chewed her bottom lip, debating a moment, before saying, "Yeah, I guess. I'm just so worried about so many people right now that I can't ever seem to relax."
He gave her a knowing look, "And you claim not to trust people. You wouldn't worry about so many if you didn't care."
"I never claimed not to care. Caring and trusting aren't the same," she countered.
"They are very close. Both make you extremely vulnerable... and therein lies your problem. You wont let yourself be vulnerable to those you love and care for."
"Why should I?"
"Because you are human."
"That is debatable, according to some; being a capsuleer and all," she said wryly.
"Being a clone doesn't make you any less human."
"But it does complicate things. By all accounts I should be dead by now. Instead, I know I have lifetimes yet to live, to carry this burden of guilt."
"Then let us talk about it. What is weighing on your mind the most."
"I wouldn't even know where to begin."
"Ryven," Witwer supplied. "Tell me about his situation."
Shalee pursed her lips in displeasure. "I had him arrested the other night. I just couldn't ignore it anymore."
"Ignore what?" he asked.
"His new persona. I don't understand how it works, only that he is not himself. He is dark, twisted, and sick. He came to the terrace wearing a coat made of...human. And he was just so nonchalant about it! As if it were an ordinary thing! I called for the guards, but of course he wouldn't go down easily. It just so happened, Lunarisse's personal security guard, Alexa, was there doing some recon on the rooftop. She asked if I needed assistance. I told her to shoot, but that I wanted him alive. I didn't want Ryven to die. Dying would mean escape. I wanted to lock him up before he could do anymore harm."
She continued, "After the shots were fired, Vlad Cetes activated some sort of cloaking device and left the terrace. Minutes later, two of Reginald's men were found murdered at the new Cathedral's construction site. It was chaotic. Still is. Alexa was an enormous help, so I asked her to unofficially help out with the investigation."
"What did she come up with?"
Shalee forwarded the neo-comm message to Witwer:
Subject: Arrest Warrant
From: Alexa de'Crux
My investigation of the holotapes has provided evidence to support charges against two individuals.
With your permission, I will arrest both Reginald Sakakibara and Vlad Cetes on charges of murder in the first degree and criminal conspiracy.
Witwer looked surprised, "What would he have to gain by murdering two of his own men?"
"I wish I knew..."
Thursday, October 30, 2014
The Last Light, part 5
She floated in an isolation clone vat, every sense deprived of stimulation. Mental layers of worry, stress, and endless to-do lists melted away as her entire being began to relax.
She floated for what seemed to be hours, though it was hard to have an accurate gauge of time- and that was the point of the exercise. To free herself of every exhausting thought until she was left with nothing but a relaxed, clear-headed state of being. Only then was she able to delve deep into the recesses of her mind and pull out the submerged memories that'd had been blocking.
It was an enormous task; to piece together the fragmented memories from several clone scans after various poddings over the previous years. Doctor Witwer was also able to incorporate other memories, ones that had been left behind on the mind-scans of her clones before coming a capsuleer, scans that her Sani Sabik Father had created and stored. Witwer was able to meld the pieces together in one clone, though it was up to Shalee to pull them out of her subconsciousness and then make sense of them.
It was easiest to do without distractions, without the constant stream of everyday thoughts combined with the incessant stream of chatter while in pod. She needed focus, and the sensory deprivation clone vat gave her that.
Witwer's voice pierced the darkness, "I want to take you back to where we left off. Two years ago."
"Alright."
"You said you were on a public transport ship to Jita?"
"Yes."
"Who were you with?"
"Scatha and Scorpion."
"Where were you going?"
"To Jita Four, to the Summer Blink Casinos."
"What do you remember next?"
She searched her memories, forcing herself to piece it together. It was there, just jumbled and out of focus.
"You can do this, Shalee. Focus on one thing only, and let the other parts fall into place. What do you see?"
"The exit ramp."
"Look in front of you."
The scene within her mind shifted. She stared ahead, into a sea of people, then latched onto the two Sebiestor teens who had departed the transporter in front of them.
"What do you feel?"
"Apprehension."
"Why? What is happening?"
"We are being watched. I don't know how I know, just a feeling."
"Let it come. Let the memory play out. What happens next?"
"Scatha buys me a red dress in one of the shops. I change out of my militia uniform. He has me drink something- it has a tracking agent in it. He says it is undetectable by scanners, though only lasts six hours."
"How do you feel now?"
"Scared. Pretty. I like the dress."
"Ah, the truth serum is working." Witwer chuckled, "Continue."
"We leave the shopping district. I go into the casino...I've never been here before in person, only in holo-form. I place a bet at one of the tables."
The memory played through her mind easily. The casino lights pulsed and sparkled. Holographic gambling boards suspend overhead, flashing a few times before disappearing, replaced with a new prize to bet upon. It was wildly beautiful, the overwhelming waves of colors and sounds engulfing her. Getting caught up in the collective excitement was too easy. She laughed as a Caldarian scooped her up and swung her around, bubbling with joy over the transport ship he'd just won. She placed a bet at the table he was playing at, then another. She blew through billions upon billions of ISK in the matter of minutes, all in an attempt to get their attention.
It worked.
She smiled flirtatiously, trying to hide her nervousness as a BLINK employee lead her into a plain room with a long table covered in masks. "Choose one, please," he requested.
She walked the length of the table, taking her time; admiring the quality of the masks, most were fairies and monsters from fables. Other's had more meaning. There were a few pirate bunnies and skulls. Some were pure gold, some emerald; the color reminding her of the Gallente space station.
Each of them worth more than most people acquired in a lifetime, no doubt.
Butterflies tumbled in her stomach. She knew this was some sort of test; but what kind? And then she figured it out...she hoped, at least. She lifted an ivory colored eye mask that resembled the one Faliin had worn. A Sani Sabik ritual mask. It would que the attendent to take her to the Blood Raider party.
He nodded to her as she placed the mask over her eyes. Her red hair tumbled about her shoulders in loose curls. The mask did little to hide her true identity, and that is precisely what she wanted.
She checked the time, just before being ushered into a lavishly decorated room of blood red and gold. She had just under five hours to draw Faliin's attention.
"What happens next?" Witwer asked, prompting her to continue with the memory.
She sucked in a tremulous breath as she forced the memory to play out. "I enter the Blood Raider party. The music is loud, pulsing through my body. The-the room is red. All red."
"Pause."
"Alright."
"Focus on one thing."
"Alright," she said softly as she searched the memory, finding one person in the room to bring her entire focus onto. Normally the exercise would help her calm down, but this time it had the opposite effect. Her heart thudded wildly, "I'm afraid."
"What are you focusing on?"
"Him. It's him. He's here." She started to hyperventilate. "He hasn't seen me yet."
"Tell me about him again."
"His name is Faliin Oreen. He is their leader- the one who abducted us from our pods. He is a Blood Raider."
"Look around the room. What else do you see?"
"Lots of people- they all have on the white masks. They are laughing, drinking, and gambling. Some are..."
"Are what?"
"Having sex, I think. They are behind silk curtains but I can make out their silhouettes. The air smells like sex and blood."
"Do you feel you can continue or do you want to stop here?"
"I can go on."
"Very well. Take it slow. And remember, whatever you see can't hurt you now."
"I know," she said as she let the memory start to play once more. "He glances at me. He recognizes me. He moves through the crowd; he hasn't taken his eyes off of me."
His mouth twisted into a smirk, "Lady Lianne." His hand curled around hers and she allowed it, forcing herself to play the part.
"You know me?"
"Your beauty is renowned across the Bleaklands. Imperial, haughty, and deadly. Let's just say I am a fan." He pulled her closer and slid his hand along the small of her back. "And I knew your Father."
"You flatter me..." she waited for his name.
"Fal."
She smiled, "A pleasure."
"Oh, I promise you, it will be."
She laughed, as if flattered by his attention.
"Shall we go somewhere quieter where we can talk? I promise to behave," he whispered against her ear.
"I don't see why not."
Shalee groaned as she shifted in the water, forcing down the feeling of being trapped.
"Are you alright? Your pulse is elevated. Do you want to end the session?"
"No. I want to finish this. I want to remember."
"Where are you now?"
"He has taken me to a private room. We are talking. He buys it, or so I think. And then he hits me. I try to run, to escape, but he blocks the door. He grabs me by my hair. His hand is over my mouth and-and I can't breathe. I'm choking! I'm trying to fight him off but I can't! I pass out."
Witwer's tone was sympathetic. Soft. "We don't have to do this now, you've already recovered a lot today."
"No. I have to finish." She sniffled, "I wake up somewhere else. I don't know where. Oh God. Oh God, I am chained. He's going to kill me. He's going to drain me..."
"Pause. Look around. Describe it to me."
She forced herself to review the scene clinically, without any emotions. "I'm in a stark white room. Chained to the floor, but I can move some. There is a glass wall. I want to see what's out there. I crawl towards it...oh God. It is a blood farm. I can see...thousands of clone vats. And then there are bodies. Rows of them. Suspended by chains, being drained. Some ...some of them look like me."
"What happens next?" Witwer asks gently.
"I don't know how long I stay there, looking down. Hours, I think. And then Fal comes into the room.
He's not saying anything, just moving closer and closer. He-he has a c-ceremonial Sani Sabik blade. He's...oh no. He's going to cut me."
"You are safe, okay? It's just a memory. He can't hurt you now."
"He raises the knife..he's teasing me. He gets off on my fear. He wants me to scream. He wants me to beg for mercy but I wont. He kicks me. I wince, but I don't scream. I don't cry. And then he jabs the blade into my shoulder. I'm crouched, trapped between him and the glass wall. It hurts, the pain is streaking down my arm. He pulls the blade out and licks it- his tongue is split."
"Keep going."
"I lunge for the knife. I think it surprises him. I manage to slam my hand against it, forcing it against his face. It cuts his tongue and mouth, and my hand. Blood is dripping. He wraps his hand around my throat and ...I think I am going to pass out but then a violent explosion roars behind us. The glass shatters and the impact throws Fal away from me, slamming him against a wall."
"You survive. How?"
"The chains keep me in place."
"What caused the explosion?"
"Orbital bombardment. They found me. Scorpion is bombing the blood farm."
Glass littered the floor. Dust and debris floated in the smoky air. A cacophony of screams and explosions roared, but she couldn't hear it. The explosion jarred her hearing. She felt like she was watching a holo-reel in slow motion, with no volume.
Desperately she tugged at her chains, trying to free herself as another explosion rocked the building. She screamed out, the sound lost to her. Her body ached. Bruises covered her skin, pierced by shards of broken glass. She tried to crawl her way to Fal, who was passed out and bleeding from his nose and the cuts around his mouth.
The door pushed open; light and smoke flooded the room. Scatha was there, calling her name. He found the keys on Fal's slumped form, then released her from the chains.
Fal groaned as he came to. Shalee grabbed the ceremonial blade from the floor and lunged at him, stabbing the metal into the side of his neck. He slumped to the floor. She pulled the blade out and ran it across his throat for good measure.
The blade fell from her hand, blood splattered across the broken glass.
"He's dead. We have to go," Scatha came up beside her. "Can you walk?"
"Yes," she said stubbornly, just as she crumbled to the floor.
Scooping her up, he carried her through the fiery maze, and out a side door, into the fresh, night air. Coughing, she buried her face against his chest as he carried her to a waiting shuttle. "Breathe. Just breathe."
"How do you escape?"
"Scatha...he's there. He finds me. He saves me."
Thursday, March 28, 2013
The Last Light, Part 4
Neon lights flashed from a billboard near the star gate they orbited, advertising the SOMER Blink casino and gambling den of Jita IV.
'Traffic Control,' the automated voice of the shuttle announced to the passengers. Scatha glanced through the window, watching the congestion around the last star gate into Jita.
Shalee murmured in her sleep and rolled over, kicking Scorpion Venom's side. The pair of militia pilots slept across a shuttle bench, tangled up among a pile of flight jackets and overnight bags used as pillows. Scorpion grunted and slouched down, his head ending up against her leg.
They had been asleep the last eight star system changes.
Scatha side-glanced them and chuckled.
The public transport was nearly empty, shuttling the three militia pilots and two heavily tattooed Sebiestor teens, who were also asleep on the last bench near the back.
A bright light flashed as a holodrone whirled into activity. The holographic image of a small red headed girl took shape in front of him. She peered at him curiously. He instantly recognized her, the avatar that Shalee's subconscious took when she was 'digitally sleepwalking', as was explained to him by his superior. She could access anything digital, go into any holographic world, activate any holodrone to project herself. She could take any form but chose a little girl; no one knew why. She would 'dream' in the waking world, wandering wherever she pleased, carrying on conversations with people, and pry into anything digital that she had access to. She was a restless dreamer. The ironic part was that she never remembered anything she learned as the little girl. It was like a fading dream as soon as she awoke. However, the child remembered everything.
He smirked at her.
She frowned.
"I was wondering when you were going to show up."
"How do you know about me?" the child asked.
"We've met before," he said.
She looked skeptical. "I would remember you."
"Actually you wouldn't. It was during those two months she doesn't remember."
"Then what's my name?" she challenged.
"Red. You say that Raphael calls you Red."
She tilted her head, "I've been watching you. You aren't Scatha. Scatha and Melisandre are both real girls...I've seen them. So who are you?"
"Steve," he answered.
"Okay Steve, though I know that's probably not your real name either. What are you really doing here. Are you an agent? You fight like one."
"Yes."
"For who?"
"The Empire, of course."
"What is your agenda?"
"To infiltrate Faliin Oreen's Sani Sabik covenant and destroy it along with the Jovian tech that he has acquired."
"Why should she trust you?" she asked.
"She has to trust someone, right?"
"You say that as if you know something...."
"I know lots of things," he assured her.
She paced along the floor in front of him, "She used to be an Imperial Agent."
"I know," he said.
Her brow lifted.
"I was her partner. During those missing two months, we were assigned a couple of joint ops."
"Why didn't you tell her the truth about who you are."
"She's not ready to face that part of her past."
"Why?"
"Because the last mission we had was to kill her fiance for good."
"You were going to kill Tiger?"
He nodded, "She was. He was an assignment, just like Eran Mintor had been."
"But Eran lived."
"Eran was converted and he fought for the Empire. His betrayal to the Minmatar was a crushing blow to their morale at the time. Tiger," he swayed his hand dismissively, "is mostly unimportant to the fate of the Empire. She was to make an assessment about him, whether he was worth converting."
"And she chose to kill him instead?" she asked.
He nodded, "He, along with all of his clones would have been infected with some sort of poison that would drive him insane. Granted, he wasn't a high priority. But you know her, she has a grudge against the Sani Sabik."
"So she was going to end him...but before she could, her brother's hijacked her clones and brought her back with years of missing memories. She didn't know the truth. She thought she really loved Tiger. She started seeing him for real instead of as an assignment..."
He nodded again, "Bingo."
"But her brothers didn't know Ethan had a clone of her, they didn't know Ethan could give her back all of the missing memories...except those two months."
"And those are the two months she knew me. The two months where she met Tiger and started a fake relationship so she could get close enough to get access to his clones."
Her little brows furrowed, "And then she started a real one with him...because she didn't know any better."
"Yes. And now she is in too deep with him, the Agency pretty much cut her off, though we check in on her from time to time."
"Why is Tiger still alive? Why don't you kill him?"
He explained, "No point in killing a capsuleer, he will just resurrect out in null sec somewhere or other. You have to get the clones too, and that is what she was going to do."
"And now she is going to marry him," she said gloomily.
"Yeah, something like that."
She tried to kick a crushed Quafe can across the floor, only to have her foot move through it. "She's not going to trust you once she finds out that you were going to help her kill Tiger."
"That's why I'm not telling her. You'll keep my secret, right?"
She pouted, "You know I can't tell her anything. I know everything she does but she doesn't know the things I do."
He smirked, "I know."
"How are you going to find Faliin?" she asked.
"I'm not. He's going to find her."
"Docking permission requested," the automated voice announced. "Docking request accepted,"
"We're here..."
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
The Last Light: Part Three
They sat at a small table near the windows in a planetside restaurant in Egghelende. Rain gushed outside, drenching the sidewalk, pooling in the streets. She watched as a couple dashed across the street and slid into a hovercar, splattering water as it eased into the traffic.
After the waiter left their table, she turned her gaze to Scatha. "So now are you going to explain what's going on?"
He nodded as he leaned back in his chair. "If you think you are ready to hear the truth, sure."
"Stop being so mysterious, I'm stronger than I look," she said.
"I have no doubt about that, but goddamn Shalee, this is a total mindfuck, I'm not sure you want to know."
"It can't be anymore of a mindfuck than finding out you are a guy. An assassin, to boot," she said.
"That's nothing. People are rarely what they seem, you should know that. Hell, even you aren't what you seem, right Miss Cerra?"
"So you know who my family is, so what," she said defensively.
"I know that you ran away from them. I know that your Father was a Holder and was disgraced for not releasing part of his slave force after Empress Jamyl decreed that all slaves to the 9th generation should be freed. I know that you have ...rather, had, three half brothers. Two who are presumed dead. I also know that your Father was very high in the ranks of the Sani Sabik culture...."
She sat there in silence, listening to the rain pelt against the window. "All of that is in the past, I don't know what it has to do with who I am now. I live and die for the Empire, I am a loyal and obedient citizen." Her chin jutted up stubbornly, "I am nothing like my family. It is why I dropped his name."
"I'm not accusing you of anything."
"Then why do I feel like I'm on trial?"
"I'm no Inquisitor. I'm merely a friend, if you will."
"A friend of who?"
"You, of course," he said.
"Obviously not, since I only just found out who you really are. Which brings me to the question, why are you here?"
"In a round about way, I was hired to infiltrate your corp."
"By who?"
"Someone you don't know."
"Why?"
"To investigate the Bleaklands. There's been a lot of strange activity popping up, things happening that cannot be explained. Something to do with the Bloodraiders, it was thought, so I was sent out to have a look around. Joining militia was the perfect ruse."
"Yes but why my corp? You could have joined any militia corp or even the 24th itself."
"Because of you, Shalee." He lit up a cigarette. "Surely it makes sense to start with the obvious. You have ties to the Sani Sabik both with your family and your fiance, Tigerfish Torpedo."
"I'm no Blooder, how could you even accuse me of that..."
"Hey calm down I'm not accusing you of anything. I had to start with the obvious leads. I know what you are."
"Not all Sani Sabik have ties to Blood Raiders," she said.
He nodded, "I know. But all Blood Raiders have ties to the Sani Sabik. They are a fractured cult of the Sani Sabik. And I think that's where they do their recruiting. So of course I was going to start within the ranks of I.LAW. To find out more about you and him."
"So now you know about me. What about him?"
He exhaled a ring of smoke, "He's not what you want him to be."
Dark brows furrowed. "What do you mean by that?"
He regarded her for a moment, "I didn't bring you here to talk about your fiance. I brought you here to show you this." He slid a datapad across the table.
She picked it up and slid her finger over 'play + internal audio' which meant that her implants would absorb the sound and she would hear it within her mind. The patrons of the restaurant would be oblivious.
The video started like her glitched memory. The battle of Kamela roared over comms. The sky was bright with explosions. Pieces of shredded metal littered the battlefield. An explosion lit the vid screen and then everything was dark.
Seconds ticked by then the darkness was pierced with a blinding light. The pod was being pulled from the battle, absorbed into the belly of some ship. The capsule was split open, pod fluid splashed across the floor. Neon red lights cast an eerie glow across Sani-Sabik masked men.
Scatha struggled against his attackers. Boots pounded against the metal grating as another kidnapper neared him.
She hit pause on the recording, feeling as if her heart were about to beat its way out of her chest. Fear coiled in the pit of her stomach. "How is this possible? You shouldn't be able to have any video feed once you left the pod. You were disconnected from it."
He nodded his head towards the datapad, "Keep watching and then I will explain."
She hit 'resume'.
The camera jerked out of focus, no doubt where Scatha was hit in the back of the head. The screen went dark though there was still audio. She could hear far away screaming.
Suddenly he opened his eyes and the video came into focus once more.
"Oh my god..." she gasped, choking on a sudden sob that caught in her throat. "What the hell is this?"
The camera panned around a Blood Raider torture chamber. There were several people suspended from the ceiling, their bodies drained, sliced open, carved with ritual symbols to the point of being unrecognizable.
It went dark again with audio; scuffling noises, people pleading, screaming.
He blinked his eyes open. A couple of new bodies hung nearby.
She started to tremble as she realized who he was looking at.
Her.
"Oh god.." she stammered, completely caught off guard, "How is this possible..."
She watched in horror as a masked Raider impaled her arms with metallic rods. He taunted and teased her, then left.
From the audio she could hear her conversation with Scorpion Venom.
"Scorpion was there?"
Scatha nodded.
And then she heard his voice. He was talking to her, commanding her to breathe...breathe to die.
Her head slumped forward and then his must have as well.
The video blurred then blinked off.
She swiped away tears as she stared blankly at the datapad. "How is this real? How did this happen..."
"I promised I would tell you."
"Do you even know how long these pod clone abductions have been going on?"
He shook his head, "Not really, but we don't think too long."
"And how did you even record it?"
He tapped his fingertip to the corner of his eye. "I have my own technology, it doesn't require being wired up to the capsule. It's always recording."
She stared at his eye, "Even so, wouldn't they have found it? Blocked any transmissions going off ship?"
He tugged at the corner of his eye and a silver stream of liquid dripped down his cheek. It fell to the table and congeled into a solid shape. "Nanites." She watched as it reformed into something with wings and flew upwards above their heads. "It's programmed to find it's way home."
"Oh..."
It swirled around then landed at the side of his eye, changing into a silver liquid form. He pulled back his skin and allowed it to seep in through the corner, then blinked several times.
Wincing, she looked away. "If they perfected the perfect crime, then why send those Raiders to my apartment. There's something about this that doesn't make sense. Is there something else that you haven't told me?"
"Faliin Oreen, the one who took you, has a taste for you now. He sent those thugs I'm sure. I bet you really pissed him off when you died, he didn't have a chance to imprint you onto another clone."
She felt sick. "What does that mean?"
"All Raiders prefer clone blood."
She nodded, having heard tales of vessels found in space with dry corpses, drained by Raiders. The Raiders were notorious for their gruesome sadistic blood rituals, especially in the Bleaklands.
He continued, "And sometimes they will become attached to a particular taste of someone and they will do anything to keep that person alive, so that they can continuously feed off of them."
She winced again.
"You had the audacity to die before he could imprint your clone onto a new clone, so that he could keep you in the blood farms."
"And so he's going to try to capture me again?" she asked, her voice filled with dread.
He nodded, "I imagine so."
"Well that's fucked up."
Scatha flicked the tip of his cigarette against the ashtray. "We have his name. We can track him down. Remember, he doesn't know we know."
****
Hours later the pair entered into a seedy bar somewhere deep within the Gallente Federation. The walls pulsed a dim green light to the beat of a strange mix of music. The dancefloor was a mash of barely clothed bodies gyrating upon one another.
Shalee swept her gaze across the sea of people, "I don't think he is here."
"He's not going to be on the dancefloor," he chuckled. "C'mon," he reached behind him and grabbed her by the hand, pulling her through the crush of people towards the back of the club.
Scorpion Venom sat with his back to the bar, a girl on each side hanging onto his massive arms. He smirked as he pulled a cigar from his lips, "Didn't figure I'd find you in a place like this," he said to Shalee. His shiney black eyes focused on Scatha. "Gonna introduce me to your friend?"
"Actually...it's Scatha."
He looked to Shalee for confirmation. She nodded. He grinned even wider, "No shit?"
"Nope," said Scatha as he stuck his hand out to shake Scorpion's. "Look. We need your help."
"What can I do for you?"
"Doing what you do best. We need to capture someone and with your considerable skills, you're our best chance at it." Scorp was one of the better known inty pilots in the militia, if not the best. He smirked again, "Say when."
"Now."
He looked to the girl on his left then to his right, "Now now? Not like half an hour from now?" He grabbed the blonde's ass, "I mean, come on. What's so important that can't wait a little so I can get a little."
Scatha gave Shalee a look, to which she shrugged. "Fine. Half an hour then we roll out."
Shalee watched the trio head for the stairwell. "So."
"So," Scatha said as he nodded his head towards the dancefloor. "Wanna dance?"
"For half an hour?"
He cracked a grin, "He'll be back in ten."
"I'm telling him you said that."
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